More important than any early symptom of pregnancy?
A positive home pregnancy test. It's best to wait until
at least the first day of a missed period before you take
a pregnancy test.

(If it's negative, try the test again in a few days.) Once you've
gotten a positive result, make an appointment with your medical
practitioner.

Another early symptom of pregnancy is that your basal body
temperature stays high. If you've been charting your basal
body temperature and it has stayed over the coverline 18 days
in a row, you're probably pregnant.

A missed period can be an early symptom of pregnancy.

Frequent urination can be an early symptom of pregnancy.
During pregnancy, blood and other body fluids increase, which
means your kidneys process more fluid whose final destination
is your bladder.

Another early symptom of pregnancy is increased smell sensitivity.
This may be a side effect of increasing estrogen levels in your
system.

Food aversions can be an early symptom of pregnancy. Some
women crave certain foods, but food aversions are more common
during pregnancy.

Nausea or vomiting can be another early symptom of pregnancy.
Morning sickness doesn't happen to most women until a month after
conception. But some women start feeling queasy much sooner.

Another early symptom of pregnancy is implantation bleeding.
The fertilized egg begins to burrow into the lining of your uterus
about 6 days after fertilization. Sometime after this you might
notice a small amount of red spotting or pink or reddish brown
staining. Only a minority of women experience this so-called "implantation
bleeding." (If you have pain along with spotting or bleeding,
call your practitioner immediately as this can be a sign of an
ectopic pregnancy.)

Fatigue can be an early symptom of pregnancy. Increased
levels of progesterone plus the physical taxation of making a
baby can be exhausting..

Tender, swollen breasts are another possible early symptom
of pregnancy, also caused by increasing hormone levels.

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Some women experience a lot of early symptom of pregnancy; others
have barely any. While an early symptom of pregnancy could be
a hint that you are pregnant, it's not definite. In fact, some
women experience one or more early symptom of pregnancy without
being pregnant. There are a few who have all the symptoms without
being pregnant. This is called "pseudocyesis," or imaginary
pregnancy.

If you haven't missed your period and want to find out for sure,
the most reliable way would be a blood test for the hormone hCG.
Results come back in about 24 hours. hCG can be positive as early
as 8 days after fertilization.

Home pregnancy tests can be positive as early as 10 days after
fertilization - a couple of days before you miss your period.
But occasionally there are false negatives (a negative test when
you're pregnant) or false positives (a positive test when you're
not pregnant). Or, you could have a "chemical pregnancy,"
which is a positive test without the development of a fetus. What's
more, a negative urine test isn't absolute proof you aren't pregnant,
because you may have become pregnant late in your cycle.

One to two weeks after the missed period (three to four weeks
after fertilization) a transvaginal sonogram can confirm the presence
of your fetus inside the uterus. Four to five weeks after fertilization
(six to seven weeks after your last period) you should be able
to see your fetus and its heartbeat.

About
The PULSEAll information herein provided is for educational use only and not meant to substitute
for the advice of appropriate local experts and authorities.Copyright 1999-2074, Pulse Media International, Brian
Carter, MSci, LAc, Editor